United States-New Zealand Collaboration in Technology Development

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United States-New Zealand Collaboration in
Technology Development
Federal Laboratory Consortium Mid Atlantic
Region 2007 Annual Conference

• Dr Brian Young
• Science Technology Counsellor
• New Zealand Embassy

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What does New Zealand have to offer?

• Ease of doing business (2nd on the World Bank
  Ease of Doing Business index)
• Low corruption (1st equal with Finland and
  Denmark on Transparency Internationals 2007
  Corruption Perceptions Index)
• High quality innovation,
• broad range of unique, niche technologies
• Flexible manufacturing, small production runs,
  opportunities for customization
• Ideal test-bed for new technologies
• Primary sector strengths world class resources
  and expertise

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What does New Zealand have to offer (cont.)?

• Clean, green image
• Immaculate animal health status
• Cross-seasonality advantages
• Increasing availability of private capital
• Small market size facilitates networking and NZ
  Inc approach
• Distance not a barrier to ICT and other high
  value-added exports

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Where is NZ?
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Unique Challenges

• Remoteness
• Size
• Small companies
• Limited access to capital
• Limited business expenditure on RD

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Not-So-Unique Challenges

• Gulf between RD and commercialization processes
  within organizations
• Weak linkages between research organizations and
  businesses.
• Firms lack of understanding of research
  organizations capabilities and IP
• Many firms dont know their SWOT
• Weaknesses in understanding, defining and
  capturing the true value of IP.
• Poor public understanding of wealth creating
  power of ST

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Not-So-Unique Challenges (cont.)

• Weak sales and marketing skills
• Limited visionary leadership
• Inadequate governance structures
• Poor strategic planning skills
• Weak project management skills
• Inadequate design skills
• Innovators and investors speak different
  languages
• Life style businesses limit growth opportunities
• Lack of large-scale infrastructure

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Infrastructure Development

• Australian Synchrotron
• Commissioned 2007
• New Zealand investment in construction and
  maintenance
• Guaranteed access

• REANNZ (Research and Education Advanced Network
  New Zealand Ltd)
• Partnerships with National Lambda Rail and
  Internet2

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Entrepreneurship Development

• NZ Foundation for Research, Science Technology
  and MIT
• Workshops for NZ CEOs at MIT
• MIT MBA students placed in NZ co.s
• UCLA Global Access Program
• Matches companies and organizations around the
  world with a team of five FEMBA students
• NZ is a participating country
• Develop an in-depth strategic business plan
• Global Technology Partnership program
• Partnership with the Danish Technology Institute
• Expert advice on technology issues
• International network of 20,000 experts

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Systems Integrators

• Package products and technologies from different
  sources into whole solutions for government
  end-users
• Provide NZ technology organizations with
• Market knowledge
• Regulatory understanding
• Scale
• Capital

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Partnerships with US VCs

• NZ is a long way from the US, and
• Not a lot of foreign companies get funded
• Need US presence
• Preferably with US staff
• Corporate headquarters in the US
• Research facilities in New Zealand

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VC Partnership Examples

• Proacta
• Headquartered in San Diego
• Anti-cancer compounds
• 35M in series B financing
• Protemix
• Headquartered in San Diego
• Compounds for treatment of metabolic disorders
• 14.5M in series A financing
• CoDa Therapeutics
• Headquartered in San Diego
• Wound healing and tissue repair
• 10M in series A financing

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Development Partnerships

• Neuren Pharmaceuticals
• Three lead compounds Glypromate, NNZ-2566,
  NNZ-2591
• Partnerships include
• US Army (Walter Reed Army Institute of Research)
• Pfizer
• Metabolic Pharmaceuticals
• University of Texas Medical Centre
• Duke University
• AgResearch/Scion
• Partnered with Diversa to investigate feasibility
  of a transportation biofuel industry in NZ that
  uses wood- and grass-derived feedstocks

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Development Partnerships (cont)

• Industrial Research Ltd
• BCX-4208 for treatment of psoriasis
• Developed in partnership with Albert Einstein
  College of Medicine
• Outlicensed to US company BioCryst
• BioCryst partnered with Roche
• Phase II clinical trials
• HTS-110
• High temperature superconductor mfg spin-out
• 20 owned by American Superconductor who
  provided
• CryoSaver(R) current leads business to HTS-110
• non-exclusive licenses to certain coil patents

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Beachheads Program

• Coordinated by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
  (national economic development agency)
• Designed to accelerate the offshore growth of New
  Zealand companies
• Provides knowledge, contacts and services of
  specialist off-shore advisory boards
• Provides introductions to potential business
  partners, customers, key influencers and experts
• Primarily focused on high-tech companies

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Government Partnerships

• Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement
• First signed in 1974
• For the purposes of enhancing
• scientific and technological collaborations
• exchange of scientific and technological
  information
• sharing of facilities
• exchange of scientific and technical personnel
• Memorandum of Cooperation between the State of
  Iowa and the New Zealand Government
• to pursue and promote cooperative academic and
  commercial research and development efforts that
  may result in mutual benefit

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Summary

• NZ has technology strengths, but
• Geographically- and demographically-induced
  weaknesses
• International partnerships essential to make good
  on opportunities
• Wide variety of partnership models in use at all
  stages of the RD process
• US is predominant international partner for
  technology development

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• Contact information
• Brian Young
• New Zealand Embassy
• 37 Observatory Circle, NW
• Washington, DC 20008
• [phone]
• brian.young_at_morst.govt.nz